December 31, 2021
The Mini Tungsten Jig Bugger
A Beginner’s Guide: How to tie the Mini Tungsten Jig Bugger Streamer Fly
By Chris Brooks
3 min read
We all have our list of first's — whether it's the first time you caught a wild cut-throat, the first time you learned how to tie a clinch knot, or the first time you saw Dune (if you haven't seen the SciFi Channel's mini-series version of Dune yet, go watch it now!). For those fly-guys who haven't tied up many streamers, the Wooly Bugger is a great first-pattern.
There are a BILLION ways to tie the Wooly Bugger, and no one-way is universally correct. As is often the case, the local variations of bugger patterns usually perform best.
For the tail-waters in Colorado, I've found the most success with smaller jig-style buggers. We fish a lot of shallower water out here; the small size has a nice drift & sink-rate, you can add an additional dropper-fly if desired, and if you're in big brown territory they make a great point fly for a 2-streamer rig if you want to tie on a bait-fish / swimmer pattern that's chasing the bugger.
The best color combinations for this pattern in Colorado seem to be black, tan, olive, and white. I like to keep the body colors pretty monotone and play with the colors of the bead + wire ribbing if I want to get fancy — throw a metallic blue bead and some gun metal blue wire with a white body…go nuts!
Tie up some of your own, they are always a great time. Here's a great video on tying the jig wooly bugger.
Pattern Details
- Family — Minnow/Leach/Crawfish
- Category — Streamer
- Lifecycle Stage — Adult
- Style — Attractor, Bugger
- Best for Seasons — All Year, Winter
- Best Time of Day — All Day
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Ingredients
- Hook: Firehole Sticks 570, size 8–12
- Bead: Metallic Slotted Tungsten Bead, 4mm
- Thread: Semperfli Nano Silk Thread Black 12/0
- Tail: Strung Marabou, with 2-strands of krystal flash
- Body: Ostrich Herl
- Ribbing: Semperfli .2mm Wire
- Hackle: Hen Saddle
Steps
- Fix bead on hook
- Wrap down entire body with thread, attach marabou tail, about 1.5x the length of the hook
- Attach flash for tail, return thread to bead
- Attach wire ribbing, wrap down length of shaft to tail
- Attach body ostrich herl, return thread to bead
- Wrap ostrich herl body up to bead, tie down
- Wrap wire up body to bead, tie down and helicopter off
- Attach soft hackle, wrap entire feather, tie down
- Whip finish and cement.
Additional Resources
Wooly Buggers | How To Fish & How To Tie--This legendary Fly The Wooly Bugger Fly: Learn the best tips and tricks to fish this versatile fly. Plus, tying a wooly bugger, what it…
How to Effectively Fish Woolly Buggers in Rivers - Flylords Mag If you are new to fly fishing, odds are you will start with a 9′ 5 wt rod with a weight forward floating line and a 4x…
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